Introduced nationally in 1966, Doritos—"little bits of gold" is how Frito-Lay translates the name—were a hit in plain and what the company called "taco" flavors. The Nacho cheese flavor, which Frito-Lay said was a blend of cheddar and Romano, debuted in 1972 under Mr. West's guidance.

The chips were aimed at the youth market, marketed as "the with-it chip." Doritos became Frito-Lay's second-biggest seller, behind Lay's potato chips.

Mr. West was a native of Franklin, Ind. He grew up in a Masonic home for boys after his father, a Mason, died. Mr. West won a scholarship to Franklin College and became a cheese salesman.

I’ve cut almost all processed foods and all grains out of my diet, but I’ll still eat an offered (nacho) Dorito in a heartbeat. I was hooked from the first time I had one as a kid, despite not being a big fan of chips and chip-like snacks. Those Doritos have some kind of freaky mojo.

Huh! I never made the connection before between “Doritos” and “El Dorado.” Knowing their original marketing tagline made sense of it.

RIP, Mr. West. You made us all as corny and cheesy as you could, encouraged us to embrace our inner snack chip and indirectly sponsored the pro-marijuana movement since 1966. With orange-hued hands, we salute you.

I considered Funyuns, but concluded that they’re just old onion rings. Pringles, Cheeze Doodles and Doritos are like the Diz, Monk and Bird of packaged junk food. Funyuns would be like an Oscar Peterson or Bill Evans–certainly significant and bringing something to the genre, but couldn’t be considered a progenitor of the form.